After watching Cody Ross make the final out of the inning four times and Mike Stanton lead off four innings on Saturday, Rodriguez moved the hot-hitting rookie to the fifth spot in the order, where he should stay the rest of the season.
“I was going back and fourth for three or four days,” Rodriguez said. His biggest concern isn’t Ross, who is not in the lineup today but will drop back to sixth when he returns, but Stanton. “They’re going to pitch him different.”

Stanton, in typical fashion, took the move with a shrug. He debuted at No. 7 when he was called up on June 8, was dropped to eighth for 10 games, returned to seventh and has worked his way up the lineup, batting sixth since early in the month.

“It doesn’t really matter as long as I’m in there,” he said.

Stanton, who has primarily been a No. 3 hitter from high school on, was asked if his approach would be any different.

“Batting third you usually have a power hitter behind you, you might get pitched a little different,” he said. “There’s not much different from an approach standpoint.”

Ross, the ultimate team player, has no problem returning to a spot that he has occupied for 65 games this season.

“I’m fine with it,” he said. “It’s not a knock or anything. He’s a great player. He deserves to be in that spot. Mike’s a four hitter. Let’s face it. He’s just slowly moving his way up.”

Ross has had a tough start to the series going hitless in eight at bats. Emilio Bonifacio starts in center today and is hitting eighth. Wes Helms is hitting behind Stanton.

Hanley to remain at leadoff

When Rodriguez moved Hanley Ramirez to leadoff on July 27, he told the shortstop he would remain there the rest of the season.

“I told him, I don’t plan to go back and forth, he’s going to be the leadoff hitter for the rest of the season,” Rodriguez said. “And he’s responded to that. He’s hitting the ball better now.”

Although his average is virtually the same _ he was hitting .289 when the move was made and is at .290 _ Hanley has gotten hot lately. He has hit in seven straight games, going 13-for-29 with two home runs.

For his career Hanley is a .312 hitter (499-for-1600) from the leadoff spot and .316 hitter (365-for-1155) from the third spot. He has 70 home runs and 179 RBI hitting first and 44 home runs and 181 RBI hitting third.

Rodriguez expects Ramirez to come back to No. 3 next season.

West’s story

Sean West will make his next scheduled start, Thursday in Pittsburgh, after a rocky start to the season. He has pitched 9.1 innings in two outings, allowing nine runs on 15 hits.

Rodriguez is hoping to see more of the West who pitched out of a bases-loaded nobody-out jam in the third inning Saturday by striking out the first three batters in the Reds lineup rather than the pitcher who came out in the fourth and walked the first two batters and gave up three runs.

“That third inning couldn’t have been a tougher situation,” Rodriguez said. “Then he went out and he wasn’t the same. I don’t think it was anything physical. Maybe he kind of relaxed.”